what every libero should be able to do… Pic:milopeng

Get Lower! One of the most common things you hear your coach say to you is to get down lower. Low in defence, low in passing, just get low. If you are low, chances are you will perform the skill better. Unfortunately it’s not that simple. Many of us struggle to force our hips through that range of motion. The good news? It is very easily fixed.

Pic: MightyFastPig

We all know that setters are clearly the smartest and best-looking players in a Volleyball team, and generally the most talented. But what else do we know?

Let’s do a little bit of background work to start. Somatotype refers to the kind of body shape you have, what your body is inclined to look like, what your physique is. You heard in the interview with Phill DeSalvo, that he referred to himself as an Ecto. What he meant was an Ectomorph, here is a small explanation of each type.

Stretching is great for your recovery… Pic: Tom@HK

You finish your game, you lost, the coach is mad, you are mad, some idiot tells you to stretch and have something to eat…you get even angrier, grab your bag and storm off to your car and get home as quick as possible. Sound familiar? It’s happened to me numerous times and I always regret it. Recovery is something many Volleyballers, and athletes in general neglect. What they don’t realise is that recovery techniques have many more benefits for athletes than simply rehabilitation and recuperation. This article is a bit of an overview on recovery and not so much specific to Volleyball, but we’ll start with it and do some more detailed posts later.

Dave and I spent Christmas over in Prague with Phill. In between relaxing, eating and watching way too many episodes of Entourage, we managed to get this out of him.

For those that don’t know, Phill plays in Prague with CZU Praha, and is the libero for the Mens National Team. He’s dedicated to his sport and getting himself in the shape he needs to be, and we thought he would be a good start for our all star interview list.

Pic: lanier67

Gatorade, Powerade, Isoport…do we need them for volleyball? Sports drinks such as these were made so athletes could basically inject some energy straight into their body ready for uptake by the muscles. They also provide and easy way to get carbohydrate and electrolytes into the body directly after a session for recovery. The question is, with a power sport such as Volleyball, are they necessary? This article will focus on the need for sports drinks DURING a match. For recovery reasons, sports drinks are very efficient but this will be delved into during a later post.